1998 European Tour
The 1998 European Tour was the 27th official season of golf tournaments known as the PGA European Tour.[1]
| Duration | 22 January 1998 – 22 November 1998 |
|---|---|
| Number of official events | 38 |
| Most wins | 4 – Lee Westwood |
| Order of Merit | Colin Montgomerie |
| Golfer of the Year | Lee Westwood |
| Sir Henry Cotton rookie of the year | Olivier Edmond |
← 1997 1999 → | |
The Order of Merit was won by Scotland's Colin Montgomerie for the sixth year in succession.[2]
Schedule
The table below shows the 1998 European Tour schedule which was made up of 33 tournaments counting for the Order of Merit, and several non-counting "Approved Special Events".[3][4] The schedule also included the Masters Tournament, U.S. Open and PGA Championship for the first time, although winnings did not count towards the Order of Merit. There were several other changes from the previous season with the addition of the Qatar Masters, the return of the Belgian Open, and the loss of the Dimension Data Pro-Am.
In March, the Chemapol Trophy Czech Open was cancelled in the wake of severe floods across the country in July 1997;[5] it was later replaced on the schedule by the German Open.[6] In July, the tour announced the cancellation of the Oki Pro-Am.[7]
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- The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names show the number of official career wins they had on the European Tour up to and including that event. Totals are only shown for members of the European Tour and are inclusive of the three United States-based major championships which were included on the schedule for the first time in 1998 and have been retrospectively recognised as official tour wins. Victories in other "Approved Special Events" are not recognised as official tour wins.
- Tournament abandoned due to persistent bad weather.[9]
Order of Merit
The PGA European Tour's money list was known as the "Volvo Order of Merit". It was based on prize money earned during the season and calculated in Pound sterling.[1][2]
| Position | Player | Country | Prize money (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colin Montgomerie |  Scotland | 993,077 |
| 2 | Darren Clarke |  Northern Ireland | 902,867 |
| 3 | Lee Westwood |  England | 814,386 |
| 4 | Miguel Ángel Jiménez |  Spain | 518,819 |
| 5 | Patrik Sjöland |  Sweden | 500,137 |
| 6 | Thomas Bjørn |  Denmark | 470,798 |
| 7 | José María Olazábal | Spain | 449,132 |
| 8 | Ernie Els |  South Africa | 433,884 |
| 9 | Andrew Coltart | Scotland | 388,816 |
| 10 | Mathias Grönberg | Sweden | 358,779 |
Awards
| Award | Winner | Country |
|---|---|---|
| European Tour Golfer of the Year | Lee Westwood | England |
| Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | Olivier Edmond |  France |
References
- "Tour History". PGA European Tour. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- Hopkins, John (2 November 1998). "Montgomerie hits his rivals for six". The Times. London, England. p. 26. Retrieved 3 May 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.
- "Scoreboard | Golf | 1998 European schedule". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 25 September 1997. p. 45. Retrieved 3 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- Davies, David (21 January 1998). "Faldo Ready for the year of the Tiger". The Guardian. London, England. p. 23. Retrieved 3 May 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Czech Open cancelled". The Irish Times. 19 March 1998. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- "In brief | Golf switch". Aberdeen Press and Journal. Aberdeen, Scotland. 20 March 1998. p. 38. Retrieved 3 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Smith, Colm (29 July 1998). "KO for the OKI pro-am". Irish Independent. Dublin, Ireland. p. 25. Retrieved 3 May 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Events | European Tour | 1998". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- Webb, Mel (15 June 1998). "Rain check costs Stewart dear". The Times. London, England. p. 42. Retrieved 3 May 2020 – via The Times Digital Archive.